Unraveled by Gennifer Albin

Series: Crewel World (bk. 3)

Genera: Sci-fi Dystopian

Subjects: Utopias, fate, abilities, resistance to government, love, alternate history

Setting: Arras

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, present tense: Adelice Lewys

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 286 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: Macmillian: FSG

Summary/ product description: “Autonomous. Independent. Dangerous. They tried to control her. Now she’ll destroy them.

Things have changed behind the walls of the Coventry and new threats lurk in its twisted corridors. When Adelice returns to Arras, she quickly learns that something rotten has taken hold of the world and Cormac Patton needs her to help him reestablish order. However, peace comes at a terrible price. As the Guild manipulates the citizens of Arras, Adelice discovers that she’s not alone, and she must let go of her past to fight for mankind’s future. She will have to choose between an unimaginable alliance and a deadly war that could destroy everyone she loves.”

My Review:  I really enjoyed this series. It’s unlike any other dystopian book I’ve read. It’s alternate history, which you’d know if you read Altered or the Cypress Project prequel. On Earth it’s only 16 years after WWII, but in Arras, where time move 12 times as fast, it’s about 200. In Altered Adelice meet her biological father, Dante, who’s only aged 16 months since she was born (because 1 month of Earth = 1 year on Arras). He is part of the Agenda, the rebellion to stop Patton and the Cypress Project.

Adelice goes back to Arras. Patton wants to marry her and parade her around as the face of Arras. She’s not only a Crewel who can weave, but a Tailor who can alter. Some say she’s the Whorl. Altering is an ability that usually only men can posses, but she can do it. She’s not as good as Dante or Erik at it though. She wants to alter Patton while in his possession. She sacrificed herself to help the Agenda and save Arras.

She gets to see her sister Amie, who has aged two years in the time Adelice was gone. No longer is she 13, but 15. Practically a woman. Amie wants to be a Spinster like her sister, but lack the ability to see the weave in the looms. Adelice rather she be a dress designer like she originally wanted to be before Patton altered her memories.

Jost plans to rescue his daughter Sebrina from the Eastern sector. Adelice, Erik and Dante get a chance to help him with that, but they discover a deadly virus affecting the citizens there. Adelice in in love with Erik. She and Jost broke up in Altered when she told him she couldn’t be a mother to Sebrina if it came down to it. I really liked Jost better in the first book. I was team Jost all the way, but Erik isn’t too bad. It’s just that my brother’s name is Erik too.

I did love this series. It’s been so long since I read Crewel as an ARC and only just read Altered and Unraveled back-to-back. I’m kind of disappointed in the open-ended ending. If you finished this series too and want to check out how I think the book should of ended, scroll down below my cover review.

Cover Art Review: Lovely emerald green color. Love the hourglass. I love these new covers so much.

How Unraveled should have ended (SPOILERS FOR THOSE WHO DID NOT READ THE BOOK)

Although the author only left hint of the possibility, my theory in that Erik altered himself and Jost, switching each other’s appearance. Erik tried healing himself while disguised as Jost. Adelice is convinced she sees Erik’s eye in Jost. Gennifer Albin is very Crewel to not give us a concrete answer, so I’ll write the ending for her. :)

….

“I know you’re not Jost,” I say. He freezes and his eyes meet my gaze. With that look I know now more than ever whom those eye belong to. “Erik,” I say.

“Yes,” he replies.

“You altered your appearance. Why?”

“Because Jost wanted me to. He wanted to sacrifice himself for us.”

“Can you change you face back?”

“I can’t,” he says.

“Can’t? Or won’t?” I ask.

“I won’t. I need to let Sebrina know she still has a father.”

“Okay then. Keep it. I still miss you face, but if’s it’s for Sebrina or Jost, I suppose I can make that sacrifice. So, for Jost?”

“For Jost.”

“For us,” I say.

“For us,” he replies. And his lips meet mine.

Quake by Patrick Carman

Series: Pulse Trilogy (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Dystopian Sci-fi/Near-future

Subjects: paranormal, psychic ability, supernatural, telekinesis

Setting: Portland, Oregon. About 47 years in the future

POV/Tense: 3rd person POV omniscient

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 358 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover

List Price: $17.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Katherine Tegan

Summary/ product description: “In the year 2051, Faith can move mountains…

Faith Daniels and Dylan Gilmore are in love, and they have a special ability called a pulse: they can move things with their minds. They're caught in the middle of a deadly war with two other pulses: Clara and Wade Quinn, who have joined forces with Hotspur Chance, the most wanted man in the world.

At the start of Quake, Faith and Dylan are holed up in a spectacular abandoned mountain lodge (once used in the film The Shining 71 years before), and their Intel friend Hawk leaves them in the middle of the night, in spite of a newly blossoming love with a girl named Jade. Hawk’s plan is to penetrate the Western State and make contact with a sleeper cell working on the inside that will give them valuable information about Hotspur’s violent plan.

But while Hawk is searching for answers on the inside, Faith and Dylan are still fighting on the outside. In a series of hair-raising battles, the second pulses duel it out, only to raise the body count on both sides. During the battles, Faith and Dylan discover an even great strength: the power of their combined love. Together, Faith and Dylan might just be able to save the world with a quake that is big enough to change the course of history.”

My Review:  Quake is the final book in the Pulse trilogy. It’s also by far the best in the series. I enjoyed the first book. The sequel was kind of boring and jumped around too much. This book is set in Oregon (Portland mostly, which is where Grimm is set!) and the characters are much more interesting and the dialogue is a lot funnier. I really enjoyed the references to pop-culture (or nerdy retro stuff) and literature.

I really enjoyed the new character, a thirteen-year-old named Jade. She had a crush on Hawk. Hawk is probably my favorite character. I would love to have a little brother whose super smart and could hack thing. Hawk is like Cody from Unremembered by Jessica Brody. Hawk likes real books and old movies. Usually you’d think a hacker would like only techie stuff. Dylan also like sci-fi movies.

My favorite thing about this series is probably the Pulse abilities. Telekinesis sounds like an awesome ability. Especially since Faith and Dylan can use it to fly. It’s also dangerous if used recklessly. This book also references old technology and our current technology and compares it to their futuristic technology. The tablets they use sound very cool. This book is not a true-dystopian, but it sometimes feels like one. The idea of the entire population of the US being concentrated into two states feels a little claustrophobic. It was done to help the environment supposedly, but it’s a bit extreme.

Now that this series is over, I hope that Patrick Carman has something else in the YA sci-fi/fantasy department cooking. I recommend this series to fans of Shatter Me, Blackout by Robison Wells and Darkest Minds.

Cover Art Review: I like the city illustration and the mountain floating in the air. It’s actually a scene in the book, so even better.

Infinite by Jodi Meadows

Series: Newsoul (bk. 3)

Genera(s): Fantasy, Dystopian, Sci-fi, Romance

Subjects: Reincarnation, love, supernatural, utopias, adventure, dragons, sylphs

Setting: Heart and the Range. Situated in an area that is pretty much like Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming

POV/Tense: 1^st person POV, past tense: Ana

Age/Grade Level: Teen

Length: 418 pgs.

HC/PB: Hardcover and now in Paperback

List Price: $17.99/$9.99

Publisher: HarperTeen: Katherine Tegen Books

Summary/ product description: “DESTRUCTION

The Year of Souls begins with an earthquake—an alarming rumble from deep within the earth—and it’s only the first of greater dangers to come. The Range caldera is preparing to erupt. Ana knows that as Soul Night approaches, everything near Heart will be at risk.

FLIGHT

Ana’s exile is frightening, but it may also be fortuitous, especially if she can convince her friends to flee Heart and Range with her. They’ll go north, seeking answers and allies to stop Janan’s ascension. And with any luck, the newsouls will be safe from harm’s reach.

CHOICE

The oldsouls might have forgotten the choice they made to give themselves limitless lifetimes, but Ana knows the true cost of reincarnation. What she doesn’t know is whether she’ll have the chance to finish this one sweet life with Sam, especially if she returns to Heart to stop Janan once and for all.

With gorgeous romance and thrilling action, the final book in the Incarnate trilogy offers a brilliant conclusion to the compelling questions of this fascinating world, where one new girl is the key to the lives of millions.

My Review:  I’m finally done with this series. I put off reading this final book for a year. I loved this series because it was so unique and interesting. I like the romance and the mix of fantasy and sci-fi elements. I don’t know if I will ever read a series like it again and now I finally am saying goodbye to it. It’s really hard for me to review this. I loved it, and I tried to drag it out.

It’s set during the wintertime in an area that may have once been Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, or a place like it. There are fantastical creatures like dragon, sylphs, centaur, trolls and even phoenix. It’s full of awesome world building that keeps you guessing whether this is set in some kind of distant future, or a whole different world. A million souls reincarnating for 5,000 years sounds pretty crazy. We find out more information in the e-novella, Phoenix Overture, but never the whole truth. I recommend reading it before this book. That novella is why I put off this book so long. It’s 90 pages long and I hate reading long things on my Nook.

I enjoyed the adventure in this finale.  Ana, Sam, Stef, and Whit travel north to find another wall where dragons live. They translate a Phoenix book along the way with the help of sylph. It explains the past and the truth about Janan. They have to make a plan to stop his ascension that could set off a super volcano event right inside the Range.

I loved Ana and Sam’s relationship. They share the love of music and play together sometimes. Ana was a big fan of Sam aka Dossam before she even met him, but she fell in love with the dark hair boy who said his name was Sam. Sam tries to protect Ana and encourages her curiosity and believes she can do what she sets her mind too. If she believes that she can get dragon to help stop Janan, then he will help even if he’s terrified of dragons.

If you have not read Incarnate yet, then why are you reading this review? Go read Incarnate! Jodi Meadows is awesome and she has a new book called the Orphan Queen coming out in March 2015.

Cover Art Review: The colors are so gorgeous on this cover. It’s like aurora colors. I love the feathers and the eyes on the girl’s face. I love the engraved feather under the book jacket too.